Blog: The Fine Print / Revenue & Spending

DeMint Earmark Amendment an Improvement to S. 1

Jan 12, 2007 by Dana Chasin

Senate consideration of >S. 1, the Legislative Transparency and Accountability Act of 2007 (discussed >here), veered off course of plans carefully plotted by Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) and Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) yesterday, when Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) introduced an amendment that would greatly expand the scope of earmarks covered under S. 1. DeMint says that S. 1 would not require the disclosure of about 95 percent of all actual earmarks. Yesterday, the Senate rejected a motion to table (i.e., to kill) the DeMint amendment by a 51-46 vote.

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Senators Broach Fiscal and Entitlement Reform Initiative

Jan 11, 2007 by Dana Chasin

We last left the subject of budget and entitlement reform in 2006 (here and here) amid muted congressional response to bids by OMB Director Rob Portman and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson to discuss concrete solutions.

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Senate Introduced Odd PAYGO Statute

Jan 11, 2007 by Matt Lewis

On January 4th, the Senate introduced S. 10, the Restoring Fiscal Discipline Act of 2007. The act lets any Senator raise a point of order in the Senate that, much like the new House rule, bars consideration of deficit-increasing tax and mandatory spending legislation. The point of order could be overruled by a 3/5th majority, or 60 votes.

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Is the Sky Falling?

Jan 11, 2007 by Matt Lewis

GAO Chief David M. Walker plays budget Cassandra in a report to the Senate Budget Committee today. You can read the report here

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Baucus Nearing Completion on "Trifecta Lite"

Jan 11, 2007 by Matt Lewis

Senator Max Baucus (D-MT) is putting the finishing touches on a minimum wage bill that also cuts taxes for small businesses. Even though the House overwhelmingly passed a clean minimum wage bill, Baucus says the $10 billion in proposed tax breaks are needed to offset the hardship a higher minimum wage might impose on small businesses

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House Passes Long-Overdue Minimum Wage Raise

Jan 10, 2007 by Matt Lewis

Alright! By a wide margin (312 to 116), the House just passed a raise in the minimum wage. No Democrats voted against it, and 82 Republicans voted for it, even though it had no other "sweetening" provisions, such as tax breaks for businesses. The ball is now in the Senate's court.

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Senate's Turn on Ethics and Earmarks Rules

Jan 10, 2007 by Dana Chasin

The House adopted its earmarks and ethics rules last week. This week, the Senate is struggling with its own rules package, S. 1, based on a bill that the Senate passed easily last year, with the expectation of considering several amendments and completing it next week. Regardless of the outcome, S. 1, "will be a tremendously important piece of legislation in the annals of history of this country," Majority Leader Reid (D-NV) said yesterday, per CQ($$). Let's see how it turns out.

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Sen. Baucus Taken to Task in Washington Post

Jan 10, 2007 by Adam Hughes*

Steven Pearlstein, the business columnists for the Washington Post, has a blistering expose on Sen. Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT) in today's paper. Pearlstein wonders how (or perhaps why?) Sen. Baucus was able to work his way to the top of the Democrats' list to lead the Finance Committee when many if not all of his views on committee business are essentially contrary to the Democratic Party platform. A few excerpts:

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WaPo's Samuelson Needlessly Freaks Out About Social Security

Jan 10, 2007 by Craig Jennings

Robert Samuelson bashes his generation in today’s Washington Post: Shame on us [baby boomers]. We are trying to rob our children and grandchildren, putting the country's future at risk in the process. On one of the great issues of our time, the social and economic costs of our retirement, we have adopted a policy of selfish silence. *Sigh* What is Samuelson so exercised about? He’s huffing and puffing over something that may or may not happen 33 years from now.

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Watcher: January 9, 2007

Jan 10, 2007 by Matt Lewis

House Begins Session with New Process Rules Will Congress Stick with PAYGO?

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